Admissions

Boise State creates opportunities. We’re here to help you make the most of the time, money, and energy you invest in your education — and in your future. Visit our Admissions page often and enjoy your exploration of Boise State. You’ll discover it’s a smart choice.

Application and admission

You are encouraged to apply if you possess a bachelor’s degree with a 3.0 GPA. You may enter the program in either the Fall or Spring semester, and applications are reviewed when they are received. There is no application deadline.

Most of our courses are offered in the 15-week Fall and Spring semesters, but occasionally one is offered in the Summer session. Frequently, courses outside the Department of English are offered in the Summer session.

If you are not interested in earning a degree but wish to take only one or several courses, you should apply to Boise State University as an unclassified graduate student. If you later decide that you wish to earn the MATC, you must then be admitted to the MATC program. Of course, you may apply for admission to the Graduate College and matriculate in the MATC program at the same time.

Please note this policy restricting the awarding of MATC credits: a student may apply to the MATC degree requirements no more than 9 credits earned before he or she is accepted in the program.

The Graduate College is transitioning to a new online-application process. If you wish to apply for admission and start to take courses in the Spring 2014 semester, you will use the current process. If you wish to apply for admission and start to take courses in a later semester, you will use the new online process.

If you wish to apply for admission to the Graduate College, either as an unclassified graduate student or as part of your application to the MA in Technical Communication program, visit How to Apply. There you will select whether to apply for Spring 2014 admission or post-Spring2014 admission.

In either case, you will be asked to submit an application fee and forward official copies of all your undergraduate transcripts to the Graduate Admissions. (You need not forward your Boise State University undergraduate transcript; Graduate Admissions has access to it.)

You will also be asked to provide the following items:

A 1,000-word statement on why you wish to enter the MATC program. In part, this statement functions as a writing sample. In part, it helps the faculty determine if this program is appropriate for you, that is, whether it will help you achieve your educational and professional goals. (For Spring 2014 admission, you may email this statement to the Director of Technical Communication at mmarkel@boisestate.edu.)

Three letters of recommendation, from employers or professors. The faculty are looking for whether the references think you have the talent, skill, and professional work habits that will make it likely you will succeed in this graduate program. (For Spring 2014 admission, you may request that your references e-mail their letters to the Director of Technical Communication at mmarkel@boisestate.edu).

A resume. (For Spring 2014 admission, you may email your resume to the Director of Technical Communication at mmarkel@boisestate.edu).

There is no GRE requirement. To receive admission to the MATC with regular status, you must have at least a 3.0 undergraduate grade-point average (GPA). If you have a lower GPA, you may be admitted with provisional status, which stipulates that you must achieve a 3.0 GPA in the first 12 credits of your graduate course work.

Once you are accepted into the MATC program, you will be assigned an adviser, with whom you will meet to discuss your program of study.

Your adviser will discuss with you your options regarding transferring graduate credits earned at other universities, selecting appropriate courses, and choosing the right culminating activity. If you have a preference about which tech-comm faculty member you wish to be your adviser, express that preference to the Director of Technical Communication, who will try to accommodate you.